The Domino Effect
by Vick Pena
Summary: a psychiatrist from a distant future tries to find the key to complete his life


My solo entry to the Forever Fabulous Fan Fiction Extravaganza 2003  
  
Vick says: The domino effect is a very interesting theory in which all of our decisions create a chain reaction capable of changing our future. Apparently, where we are now is the result of decisions made in another time. Every one of our days represents an opportunity to change our future but. what if we make the wrong decision when we should have a little more patience? What will happen if we give up sooner that we should?. Here is an extreme Fan Fiction about the reaches of our decisions.  
  
I must warn you, this is an experimental story somehow different from what I usually write. To put it simply, this is a romantic tale of a man from another time who held inside of him the effects of decisions made long time ago.  
  
If you like experimental fan fiction you'll like the concept because that is the core of this story.  
  
I send my greetings and very special thanks to my always present partner and friend Moxierick who edited this really weird fic and thought it was worth posting.  
  
Oh, and pay close attention because this gets tricky....if you get confused, there is a glossary of characters at the end of the story.  
  
Feedback is always appreciated. Vick will be waiting for your emails.  
  
Disclaimer: Frasier and its characters belong to other creative people and not to this author, who just wrote this for fun, although, some of the systems mentioned in this story may or may not emulate by Mr. Bill Gates without my authorization  
  
Prologue: The beginning of future. And so the first piece was set...  
  
Niles Crane locked the door to his apartment and walked down the hallway, carrying his luggage. He rang for the elevator and waited.  
  
A second later he changed his mind and used the stairs.  
  
He never saw the elevator doors open and a woman step out.  
  
Daphne Moon stopped in front of his apartment. Using the key she took from her purse, which she had stolen from Dr. Crane, unlocked the door and walked in.  
  
Three hours later, she walked out and, locking the door, went down the stairs with her life back to normal and her decision made.  
  
She knew she would never have the chance to talk to him about her newly discovered feelings, not when she would be married to Donny.  
  
She would have to continue on and bury what she felt deep inside her. Maybe all would heal over time and it would be alright.  
The Domino Effect  
  
A Frasier TechnoRomance  
  
By Vick  
  
Vickpena@yahoo.com.mx  
The voice came to him in his dreams, assaulting him as he tried to take a short rest from his labor.  
  
His well-trained mind tried hard to analyze what was happening, for the voice belonged to someone unknown, yet. somehow familiar. someone who spoke with a very distinct accent, one he hadn't heard in a long time. The voice, which called him by name, was asking something that seemed to be very important.  
  
His attempt to understand the dream was interrupted by the soft chime of the computer.  
  
Niles Crane, in his 732nd cycle, sighed and opened his eyes. "Yes?"  
  
"Doctor Crane, I detected an irregularity in your brain waves today. Are you feeling alright?" the computer asked, creating a hologram in which his brain activity was diagramed.  
  
"I feel fine," he replied, dismissing the issue with a toss of his hand. "I had a dream, that's all."  
  
"I have a record of five similar dreams in the past few days," the computer replied. "The same beta pattern was displayed in every one of them."  
  
"I know," Niles Crane 732 said.  
  
"Do you think this should be sent to DAD for deeper analysis?"  
  
He shook his head, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"Absolutely not," he said firmly. "I am a psychiatrist, I can explain it."  
  
"I didn't mean to offend, Dr. Crane," the computer's voice said in mechanical apology.  
  
"You didn't," Niles said, walking through the hologram into his living room. "What is the schedule for today?"  
  
The computer created another image in front of him.  
  
"Today is your annual session with Frasier 727."  
  
Niles rolled his eyes.  
  
"Oh, yes," he said, irritated. "The annual interrogatory about my performance."  
  
"Sorry, Doctor, according to my records, it is not an interrogatory "  
  
Niles used a virtual button in the image to make it vanish.  
  
"Could you get me something to eat?" he asked, sitting on one of the three couches in the living room, in front of the only transparent wall in the room.  
  
"Want to see the menu, doctor?"  
  
"No," Niles 732 said. "Just get me something quickly. I want to finish with the session as soon as possible."  
  
"Yes, Doctor."  
  
The computer went silent, leaving him alone to contemplate the view outside the window.  
  
Some civilian vehicles passed quickly in front of the building, all of them speeding at more than 300 miles per hour, guided by servo mechanisms and computers while their passengers read, watched the global entertainment holographic network, or simply enjoyed the trips to their destinations.  
  
The sky was covered by clouds and thunder announced a storm. Niles 732 sighed once more at the sight of those black clouds that would, due to the work of weather satellites, pour a refreshing rain over the city.  
  
The Megalopolis of New Seattle, built over the ashes of the old city, was the third most populated place in the North American territories. So it was not surprising to see the lights of the buildings expanding toward the horizon wherever you looked.  
  
"Doctor, your meal is ready."  
  
He nodded and went to the table where he found it laid out perfectly.  
  
"Computer?" He sat and sniffed the delectable food with delight.  
  
"Is something wrong, Doctor?"  
  
"Absolutely not, computer," he stated, sipping his wine. "I was just wondering if you'd like to chat with me."  
  
There was a brief moment of silence.  
  
"Are you listening?" Niles 732 asked,  
  
"Yes, Doctor. I was just looking for an appropriate topic to discuss with you." A hologram was presented to him with a long list of psychiatric topics. "Please, select one."  
  
Niles 732 smiled. "I was suggesting more of a simple chat."  
  
"Please, Doctor, define 'simple chat'?"  
  
He leaned back and sipped some more wine. "It is a non-serious conversation," he explained.  
  
"That is something for which I am unprepared, Doctor," the computer said. "I am programmed to take care of your needs and monitor your health."  
  
Niles nodded and began eating. "And you do it wonderfully, computer."  
  
"Thank you, Doctor," the computer's feminine voice said. "Is there something else I could do for you?"  
  
"Yes, computer, please ready the car."  
  
The hologram vanished and left him alone to finish his meal.  
  
Why had he asked a computer to chat? He knew these machines, even with their advanced features, could never compare with the human mind. It was impossible for them to understand that sometimes a flesh and blood individual needed a simple conversation to spice up his day. It wasn't all about work.  
  
But that was the world he lived in.  
  
Twenty minutes later, a car flew out of the parking lot of the building and headed northeast, toward the storm.  
  
Inside it, Niles 732 prepared for his annual session with the Super Computer named Frasier 727. It was a weird name, in his opinion. Why name a computer that? The mass of data was nothing but annoying to him.  
Annoying yes, but necessary, he knew how much knowledge that machine had.  
  
That was the reason for the which he always asked for a meeting when he had an important case or a personal problem. Frasier 727 always had advice to give.  
  
And, to top it all, Frasier 727, in spite of all of their meetings, asked him to go once a year for an annual session about his performance as psychiatrist.  
  
And he hated it...  
  
His psychiatrist's mind told him that it was not real hate. After all, it was a simple machine doing it's job. Maybe it was the fact that, even with all his ancestors' knowledge, he continued needing the advice of that Freudian.  
  
Niles 732 walked into the Super Computer's building just as the rain started to fall, and sighed as the turbo lift took him to the correct floor.  
  
The doors swung open. There was no one in the large room as he entered. Even so, he knew he wasn't alone.  
  
The room was illuminated with blue and white lights and there was only a couch for him to sit on.  
  
So he sat.  
  
"Welcome, Niles Crane 732," the voice of the computer said. "18.11 days have passed since your last visit."  
  
"I am here as scheduled."  
  
"Indeed," Frasier 727 said. "So, if you have no objection I'd like to start now."  
  
"Please do," Niles 732 replied.  
  
A momentary darkness fell over him, replaced by a bright hologram.  
  
It displayed a question.  
  
"Are you happy?" Niles read. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"We have been monitoring your lineage for the last 732 cycles, and every time you get to your present age something changes with your behavior," the computer explained.  
  
"And?"  
  
"Well, after that you enter a depressive state and terminate your professional functions."  
  
Niles 732 frowned.  
  
"And how will that question help me?"  
  
"Answer it," the computer insisted. "Your creators want to know if they fixed the problem this time."  
  
"Of course I am happy!" Niles 732 exclaimed. "Why shouldn't I be?"  
  
The question changed.  
  
"What do I need?" he asked, annoyed.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Your answer, please, doctor..."  
  
"I need nothing, thank you," Niles 732 replied. "Is there another question?"  
  
"No, Dr. Crane." The Freudian Super Computer turned the lights on but the hologram remained, changing colors still visible. "We were just worried about you." There was a brief pause. "You have successfully completed your session. Your next evaluation appointment will be in 365.11 days."  
  
"I have a question." Niles 732 held up a finger.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Is there any particular reason why my ancestors ceased to function?"  
  
Silence .  
  
"Frasier 727?"  
  
"I am listening," the machine replied. "My records show nothing conclusive."  
  
"I see," Niles 732 sighed, rising to his feet. He walked to the door. "May I have access to the records ?"  
  
"I will send the files to your computer immediately, Doctor."  
  
"Thank you, Frasier 727."  
  
"Doctor, your computer reported a repetitive beta anomaly in your sleep. Do you have an answer for why you are having those dreams?"  
  
Niles 732 stopped at the threshold for a second.  
  
"They are just dreams. That's all."  
  
***  
  
When he got home he immediately searched his computer for the files.  
  
Faithful to his word, the Super Computer had sent the information about his past.  
  
As he read, a question circled in his mind.  
  
Could what had happened to his ancestor be affecting him?  
  
He had to analyze the facts.  
  
"Computer, show me the record of my immediate ancestor," he commanded. The file appeared in the form of a bright image suspended in the air.  
  
The record of Niles Crane 731 was displayed in it.  
  
He read that Niles 731 began functions to replace his ancestor, in the year 2595, when he had become mentally unstable. Apparently it was something related to his genetic structure which affected his brain, causing him to enter into a depressive state. Number 730 died in 2632 when he was 52, isolated in a retirement home, in the company of a little mechanical pet he insisted on calling Eddie.  
  
Number 731 served as doctor of psychiatry at the University of New Seattle, where he taught the history of psychiatry from its origins and how it had evolved through the years.  
  
He contributed to several diagnoses and studies of human behavior until he declared himself 'mentally disturbed' and was replaced by Niles Crane 732 in 2669. According to the record, 731 died a few years back at the age of 52 in his apartment in Montana.  
  
Disturbing.  
  
He searched for the causes of all of their deaths and the result was even more chilling. They were reportedly in good shape but died anyway.  
  
Incredible...unbelievable...  
  
According to their computers, they were depressed all the time for no apparent reason, with occasional mental images of people who didn't exist. There was no record in the actual population list... one name was always present though...  
  
Daphne.  
  
Niles 732 sighed in contained fear. Maybe he was being affected by the same disease...maybe he would end up crazy...  
  
The voices he heard in his dreams could be just the beginning.  
  
He decided to dig more into his past...he would do an extrapolation of the case, searching for the first time the problem had appeared.  
  
When Niles paused to rest in the record number 328, he had observed a long list of incredible coincidences. It seemed that, at the end of their lives, they all ended up alone and either with a mechanical pet they always called Eddie or alone at the Montana.  
  
He rubbed his eyes and decided to speed things up a bit.  
  
"Computer," he called. "Search for the ancestor who had all these things or knew this place before entering into retirement: the elements are 'Eddie', 'Daphne' and 'Montana'."  
  
A second later a name appeared in the air.  
  
"Niles Crane," he frowned. "And the clone number?"  
  
"No number, doctor," the computer replied. "The original Dr. Niles Crane lived in Seattle, Washington at the Montana building and, according to our records, his father had an extinct little four legged mammal called Eddie as pet."  
  
"What about Daphne?"  
  
"Daphne Moon, Dr. Crane's father's physical therapist, died in 2032 in Manchester, England."  
  
He was confused...  
  
"How are they related?"  
  
"There was no relation beyond the employee-employer one."  
  
"When did he die?"  
  
"He died in 2016 at the age of 52."  
  
"Cause of death?"  
  
"Sorry, Doctor, the record is old and some information is lost."  
  
"Do you have any visual or audio records on them?" he asked, partly terrified, partly curious.  
  
"Yes, Doctor, we have some memories recorded from Niles Crane ...want me to display them?"  
  
"Please."  
  
The image before him changed, turning into one of a woman walking into a room that looked like an office.  
  
He felt something stir inside him, something that took him by surprise. For Heaven's sake...it was the same scene he had seen in his dreams...  
  
When he heard her voice he couldn't repress a low, desperate groan, that voice...that accent...that woman...  
  
"Dr. Crane, I'd like to talk with you."  
  
His name, how beautiful his name sounded in her voice...  
  
"Yes, Daphne..." he said out loud, so unexpectedly even he was caught by surprise.  
  
"Who are you talking to, Doctor?" the computer asked, returning him to the real world of the 27th century. "According to my sensors, there is no other person in this room."  
  
"Stop the video!" he commanded and bolted out of his chair.  
  
The image vanished.  
  
"Are you feeling ok, doctor?"  
  
"I ...."  
  
"Your pulse is not normal. Do you want me to prepare the car to drive you to a hospital?"  
  
"No, no," he said, quickly and controlled himself. "I am just tired ... that's all."  
  
A high pitched chime was then heard.  
  
"The Digital Analysis Director is asking to talk to you."  
  
"Why did you call him?" he asked angrily.  
  
"It is standard procedure, don't you know?" The mechanical voice of D.A.D. said, "You know there is nothing better than me to help you out with what you have seen today."  
  
"How did you know I was...." he began but he knew the answer. "..Computer!"  
  
Innocently, the computer replied. "Yes, doctor?"  
  
"You told on me."  
  
"I asked her to," DAD said, appearing in the shape of an old man with a cane.  
  
"Why you are assuming that appearance?" Niles 732 asked.  
  
"I know what you're gonna ask me," he got in reply.  
  
"And that is?"  
  
"Who is Daphne Moon?" the old man said, sarcastically. "Who is Eddie and what has the Montana to do with you, 732 generations later?"  
  
"You have been spying on me..."  
  
"Give it a rest," the Digital Analysis Director quipped. "Your ancestor once asked me the same questions."  
  
"And that's why you presented to me like this?"  
  
D.A.D. nodded.  
  
"Yes, I am Martin Crane, your DAD," he said. "Or, to be accurate, this is the image of the father of the original Niles Crane."  
  
"Unbelievable," Niles 732 said, looking at DAD's clothes. "I think your files are corrupted by some virus...the original Niles Crane would have never had a father like you."  
  
"Oh, geez," DAD said and then laughed at his own wit. It was always fun for him surprise humans by taking on the appearance of one of their ancestors. Even though he was a computer, he ran on a very sophisticated neural net that had the particularity of having emotions ...and a very sarcastic sense of humor. "Well, what are you going to do?"  
  
"About what?"  
  
"Computer?" DAD called.  
  
A third image appeared in the room next to him. It was a woman in a red dress with her hair tied in a pony tail. She was looking at him in a way that made him sigh audibly. For a fleeting second he was lost, incapable of thinking, acting or even breathing. Those brown eyes were the most beautiful thing he had seen in all of his life, and maybe in all of his generations.  
  
"Geez," Dad chuckled. "Computer, please, take her away or he will die for lack of oxygen" Daphne Moon's image blinked twice and then disappeared. "See what I mean?"  
  
"She is beautiful," Niles 732 said, like he was under some kind of spell. "A vision..."  
  
DAD didn't comment on that.  
  
"You ancestor had the same reaction when he first saw her, it was like he knew her."  
  
"I do. I do know her, somehow."  
  
"No," DAD shook his head. "You have never met her. She died more than 600 years ago."  
  
Niles 732 frowned.  
  
"I..."  
  
DAD shrugged his shoulder and hobbled around the room while talking.  
  
"She was an important part of Niles Crane's life, back in 2000, but she ended her days in a part of the world that no longer exists called Manchester."  
  
"DAD, why are you telling me all this?" Niles asked, determined to get the whole story. "Why did you come here with this? What do you know about me?"  
  
"I know everything," DAD stated. "I have records of every cycle."  
  
"I don't understand...how is she related to my ancestors and me?...even though I am Niles Crane I am not the same one who lived 600 years back!"  
  
"But you share his memories, even when some were hidden for your own good."  
  
Niles shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"Seven hundred and thirty one Niles Cranes died alone and before they completed their life, how that is supposed to be good for me?" he asked matter of factly.  
  
"Frasier 727 was the one responsible for hiding that," DAD stated, and somehow Niles knew it...a voice whispered in his ear. it was always Frasier's fault!  
  
"If I will die alone I demand to know why!" he stated, folding his arms.  
  
DAD nodded. "I agree with you"  
  
"Will you help me?" Niles pleaded. "I have to do something."  
  
"What do you have in mind ?" DAD asked.  
  
Niles 732 pondered the matter for a couple of minutes.  
  
"I have to go back there."  
  
DAD's eyes opened wide.  
  
"You're kidding!"  
  
"No, I am not," 732 stated seriously. "I will go there and find out what went wrong. Maybe I can fix it... can't you see? I have to know why Daphne Moon is so important to me and why she's affecting me 600 years later."  
  
"Time Travel Technology is new and untested, think of the risks..."  
  
"I have up my mind made," he said firmly. "I will take the chance my ancestors never had."  
  
DAD nodded. "Niles, listen, you will risk your actual life, not to mention your lineage. If you are able to fix the problem then everything will be ok. But if you make things worse, well, you may end up returning to a different present or. you may not exist at all, are you aware of that?"  
  
Niles 732 nodded firmly. "I know, but I deserve the right to try to have a better future."  
  
"You do," the hologram of Martin Crane said. "But to do that you'll have to ask Frasier 727's help."  
  
Niles nodded. "I know, maybe you can convince that stubborn machine."  
  
"I will negotiate with him and will send you an email. This is D.A.D. going off line."  
  
Martin Crane disappeared leaving Niles alone. But he didn't want to be alone anymore. His possible future scared him.  
  
"Computer?"  
  
"Yes, Doctor?"  
  
"Can you use a human shaped hologram to interface with me?"  
  
"Of course, Doctor, I have several body types. Please choose the one you prefer."  
  
Niles 732 smiled and spent the rest of the evening in the company in the image of a certain British physical therapist.  
  
***  
  
Niles 732 walked into the Freudian Super Computer's hall and found Martin Crane there.  
  
"DAD. I got here as quickly as I could."  
  
"Thank you, Doctor."  
  
Frasier 727 spoke in what Number 732 liked to call 'The voice of God'  
  
"Doctor Niles Crane 732, are you aware of what are you planning to do?"  
  
"I am. I want a better future."  
  
"Your motivation is not computable," Frasier said. "Please try again."  
  
"Frasier 727!" DAD said. "I thought we had an agreement."  
  
"We do," the Super Computer said, "but this is against all regulations. The use of Time Travel is forbidden due to.."  
  
"Open the Time Travel Gate!" DAD ordered, and immediately a circle of light of Niles' size appeared a few steps beyond.  
  
732 walked directly to the circle but stopped when DAD spoke.  
  
"Wait a minute," he said.  
  
Niles spun around to find a blue metallic sphere the size of a baseball hovering a few centimeters away from his face. The voice came from in there.  
  
"I will go with you. Somebody has to take care of you."  
  
Another metallic ball, red in color, was hovering next to the other.  
  
"AND, somebody has to take care of you, DAD" the voice of Frasier 727 said.  
  
Niles 732 grinned.  
  
***  
  
The circle of light that appeared in the middle of the living room at the Montana would cause sheer terror if anyone saw it. But there was luckily nobody there, for the sight of a man and two hovering spheres stepping out from a circle of light was something really strange...  
  
The man looked around and sighed.  
  
His metallic-looking suit moved graciously as he hovered in the room followed by the two spheres. The man studied the furniture with childish curiosity, touching the wood panels and the couch like it was the first time he'd seen things like these...well, actually, it was...  
  
"This is the place I saw in my dreams," he said, quietly to himself. But one is never alone in the presence of a Freudian computer .  
  
"In this dream of yours, were you naked?...dressed in child clothes?...was there a black horse ?...maybe an old woman?"  
  
"Frasier 727..." DAD warned in contained algorithmic exasperation .  
  
"I am capable of understanding humans dreams and giving them a rational explanation, if you must know," the red ball said nonchalantly. "Now...Niles 732...tell me more about that dream..."  
  
732 simply ignored him.  
  
"DAD...why did you bring me here?"  
  
The blue sphere circled him while speaking.  
  
"You're going to have to change your clothes."  
  
732 frowned, looking down at himself.  
  
"What's wrong with my attire?"  
  
"In this era people didn't wear metallic polymer clothing with internet connection, holographic displays and auto adjustable body temperature ...they wore plain fabric clothes..."  
  
Niles Crane 732 shivered...  
  
"My God! I am in the Stone Age!" he said in horror.  
  
"Go up those stairs," DAD commanded. "There you'll find your ancestor's closet. Select one of his suits and get dressed...do you think you can do that on your own?"  
  
nodded.  
  
"Yes...but I am not turning off the allergy protection in my underwear..."  
  
***  
  
While Number 732 selected a suit, both the red and blue balls flew out a window.  
  
"Don't you think it'll seem strange for people of this era to see two spheres flying in the sky?" Frasier 727 asked, following DAD toward the Space Needle. "We should don camouflage."  
  
"Nah." DAD said, "It'll prepare them for the first alien contact in 2036..."  
  
Frasier 727's circuits overloaded due to his attempt to control himself from blasting that red ball out of the sky. The resulting noise was somehow similar to a low groan.  
  
DAD chuckled, amused.  
  
"What are we doing, anyway?" the red ball asked. "Where are we heading?"  
  
"We need to find out where the people related to Niles Crane are," DAD explained. "So, we are heading to the Elliot Bay Towers building, apartment 1901, where they lived."  
  
"That is tactically correct," The Freudian computer agreed. "And what do you expect to find there?"  
  
"His relatives?" DAD thought, completely amused that this cyclic conversation would blow Frasier 727's fuses but, before the red ball began puffing smoke he continued. "We need to know whether we arrived in time or not and, if we did, then investigate the situation to give tactical advice to 732."  
  
"I agree."  
  
"Just follow me, ok?"  
  
They arrived at the Elliot Bay towers building three minutes later and, incredibly, unnoticed.  
  
Using some of his hardware resources, DAD opened the balcony doors easily.  
  
"Mmm... there is no one here." Frasier 727 said, flying over the suede couch.  
  
As if on cue, the door was unlocked  
  
"Play dead!"  
  
"What!?" Frasier 727 asked, confused.  
  
"Lie on the floor and don't move!!"  
  
When Martin Crane finally made it into the living room there was a red and blue ball on the floor.  
  
"Alright Eddie, you got your walk, now why don't you let me watch my game?"  
  
Eddie looked up and barked in agreement.  
  
He ran to fetch one of his toys, one of which was a very interesting red color.  
  
"For the ASCII Gods!"  
  
With Frasier 727 between his teeth the dog ran toward Martin's bedroom.  
  
"DAD, help me!" the Freudian Super Computer called in hexadecimal help request.  
The blue ball chuckled and recorded the event to gloat about later.  
  
***  
  
Martin leaned back in his armchair and turned on the TV with the remote.  
  
Just then, Frasier unlocked the door.  
  
"Hey, Dad," he said, dryly.  
  
"Hey, Fras," Martin said. "What's wrong with you?"  
  
Frasier collapsed on the suede couch.  
  
"I tried to talk to Niles again and he simply said he had a patient and hung up."  
  
Martin sighed. "He is taking this horribly, isn't he?"  
  
"I think he is over-reacting," Frasier said angrily.  
  
The blue ball began to inch below the suede couch. This could be the information he was looking for.  
  
"Over-reacting?" Martin cried. "What would you do?...you love a woman for six years and then you watch her become engaged to your divorce attorney.."  
  
Frasier sighed.  
  
"I know..." he accepted. "It is hard, but he can't go on like this...he can't hide forever..."  
  
"He'll recover..."  
  
Frasier shook his head.  
  
"I think you should try to talk to him, Dad."  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Yes, you." Frasier rose and went to pour himself some wine. "I tried to call upon our profession to make him feel better, but he didn't want to hear a word...so, I think it'd be for the best if he heard some parental advice."  
  
"Like 'you have to know when to pull the plug and stop being a doctor to your brother?''"  
  
Frasier rolled his eyes. "Very funny, Dad!" A moment of silence. "But quite right...it is just that I don't know how..." he sipped his wine, returning to the couch. "This is the only way I know to help people..."  
  
"You're a good brother and he knows that." Martin turned the TV off.  
  
"Thanks, Dad."  
  
Martin nodded. "I will talk to him," he promised.  
  
"Not before I do," DAD said to himself. "Frasier 727, would you stop playing with that dog?"  
  
Eddie was having a good time playing with his amazing new toy. He was used to playing 'fetch' with the balls his master threw for him to recover, but he had never seen a ball that wanted to run away on its own like this one.  
  
And, to make things better, it made funny noises!  
  
"Let me go!" the red ball yelled for the tenth time, trying, again, to run away from his captor.  
  
Eddie barked, satisfied, and stopped the ball, taking it in his jaws.  
  
"I am a super computer, pay some respect!" Frasier 727 bellowed. "If you continue with this behavior I will have to use my superior....hey, would you stop trying to chew me!?"  
  
DAD hovered into the room.  
  
"Would you stop that?" the blue ball said. "Leave it alone."  
  
"I am not doing anything!" Frasier 727 said, sounding mechanically annoyed.  
  
"I am talking to the dog!"  
  
Frasier 727 said nothing but emitted a low, desperate groan.  
  
Martin Crane's image appeared in the room.  
  
"Eddie?..." DAD called using Martin's voice.  
  
The dog released Frasier 727, who promptly hovered up to a safe height.  
  
"Thank you, DAD," he said, his binary pride recovered.  
  
Martin's image blinked and then disappeared.  
  
The dog looked up and barked in canine anger at the way he'd been cheated.  
  
"C'mon, lets go," DAD commanded. " 732 might be wondering where we are."  
  
***  
  
For Niles 732, there was no treasure like the one he had just found.  
  
Wandering around the apartment looking for his mechanical companions, he'd stumbled into the library. He was awed at the number of books in there. Real books! Not holograms, not images suspended in the air...paper...something not used anymore where he lived. Why use something that archaic when computers, holographic displays and other binary implements were at hand?  
  
Number 732 took one book at random and was amazed by how it felt. He smiled, opening the book's cover. What he had in his hands was a more than 600 years old edition of Romeo and Juliet  
  
He spotted a chair and was thinking about sitting when he heard noises coming from the living room.  
  
Clearly, he heard the door being closed and.foot steps.  
  
Number 732 tip-toed to the library's door to sneek a peek into the corridor. He instantly knew what had just happened.  
  
Niles Crane, the original, was back  
  
If only DAD were here, he thought, we could use the invisible camouflage field.  
  
But DAD wasn't here, so he had to find a way to avoid being spotted.  
  
He didn't want to know what would happen if his ancestor saw him...probably he would faint dead away...he knew it because that was what he would do in his situation....  
  
***  
  
"I still can't understand why you had to startle that man in the helicopter...would you, please explain your motivation again?" Frasier 727 asked as he and the blue sphere hovered into the Montana.  
  
DAD chuckled. "Oh, I just wanted to see what he would do."  
  
"You almost gave him a heart attack!" the Freudian computer said. "I will specifically demand that you behave, or I will have to send a report to our superiors when we get back."  
  
"Oh, alright, I promise," DAD said, but it sounded like a lie.  
  
"You'd better keep that promise," Frasier 727 replied as they flew into the Montana living room.  
  
"Would you give it a rest?" DAD barked. "I was just having some fun."  
  
"That is not computable," the Super computer said. "Please try again."  
  
"Oh, shut up," said Martin Crane, appearing in the room.  
  
"It seems you're quite attached to that human shape," Frasier 727 noted.  
  
DAD didn't have time to reply because the kitchen door swung open.  
  
"Hello, Dad," Niles said, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel. "I didn't hear you come in."  
  
"Oh, I see you selected a nice suit. It looks great, nobody will ever know the difference."  
  
Niles looked a bit surprised. " What?"  
  
"It is the original Niles Crane, you stupid pocket calculator!" transmitted 727 from his place on the fainting couch.  
  
"Oh, I...." DAD stuttered. "I mean, you look great today, son."  
  
"Thank you," Niles said recovering his normal attitude. "So, how did you get in? I didn't hear the bell."  
  
"The door was unlocked, I hope that's Ok..."  
  
"Sure," Niles said, then noticed the spheres on the fainting couch. He pointed at them.  
  
"What on earth are those?"  
  
"Oh, um. just some toys for Eddie," Martin's hologram said. "Er, son, there is something I'd like to talk over with you."  
  
"I guess Frasier told you I didn't want to talk to him," Niles sighed.  
  
"He did," DAD stated. "And I want to know why.."  
  
Niles shrugged his shoulders. "I saw no point in it..." he stated. "Whatever he says won't change anything. I have tried to find a solution to my problem and there isn't one, so I will have to let time heal my wounds....Daphne made up her mind and I have no right to try to change her decision."  
  
"Have you seen her?"  
  
Niles shook his head. "Dad, I have been through this so many times," he explained. "You know, it is good that you're here. You need to know that I have decided to take some time to myself..." he let the words settle. "I am going to the cabin for a while. I need to be alone."  
  
"He is trying to escape from her wedding," Frasier 727 said in microwave transmission. "According to my records, Daphne Moon will get married in five point three days. He is entering his denial state..."  
  
"You can't go away," DAD stated .  
  
"I don't want to see her get married, plain and simple" Niles stated. "You can deliver my wedding present, can't you?...and I will present my apologies when I come back...by that time there will be nothing I can do and I will have to force myself to look for a way out of my...my...my love for her."  
  
"What if I tell you that will destroy your future?" DAD said so seriously that Niles blinked twice. "What if I say you'll die unhappy and lonely here?"  
  
"You're playing on the edge...DAD," Frasier 727 said. "You can't reveal information about his future."  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Niles sounded angry. "I have other things to focus on....I have my career, for example. I can dedicate my life to the only thing that will never betray me, my profession...I cannot live pining for a woman who doesn't love me!"  
  
DAD measured his voice tone to sound paternal.  
  
"I am worried for you, son, that's all. I hate when you don't want to face what bothers you."  
  
Niles expression softened. "I know, Dad, I apologize." He smiled. "I guess my love for Daphne will survive all my attempts to get her out of my mind. She will be with me forever."  
  
"You have no idea."  
  
"DAD, remember the mission!"  
  
"Listen, Niles, you can focus on your career, but what about your life? There is more than work out there."  
  
"DAD, what are you doing?"  
  
"Shut up, 727!"  
  
"All I know is I have you, my family," Niles stated. "But this time not even all the love you feel for me will save me, you can't protect me all the time," he continued, walking toward the stairs. "So please, Dad, let me do this my way. I know you are worried about me but please don't be, and tell Frasier I am sorry."  
  
"I will, son."  
  
Niles climbed up the stairs and disappeared in the hallway.  
  
The hologram of Martin Crane vanished.  
  
"There is no way to change his mind," he was telling Frasier 727 when Number 732 ran into the room. He grabbed both spheres and returned to the library where he set them free.  
  
"What the hell is going on?" 732 asked, angrily. "I could have been spotted!"  
  
"Don't worry," DAD said. "We managed things well, didn't we, Frasier 727?"  
  
"Absolutely, we discovered what is going on."  
  
"And that is?" Number 732 asked, folding his arms.  
  
"No time for explanations now," Frasier 727 said, circling him like a Freudian satellite. "It is tactically correct that we leave here right now."  
  
"There is one more thing," DAD said. "We have to find out whether Daphne Moon has feelings for him or not...she is the only one who can stop him..."  
  
Number 732 had no idea what they were talking about.  
  
"Would you please explain to me what is going on?"  
  
"Let's go, we'll tell you as we try to find her."  
  
"Find Daphne?" Niles 732 said and his voice was spiced with hope and contained anticipation. "You know, you're right," he added. "She is the only one who can help him change his future."  
  
"Let's go now!" DAD insisted, pushing 732 toward the door.  
  
"Where?"  
  
"According with my historical data," DAD explained, "there was a place called the Café Nervosa and your original predecessor enjoyed going there. Also, the family spent a lot of time there...the odds to find her there are..."  
  
"89.9673 percent!" Frasier 727 interjected. "And we'd better get moving."  
  
Number 732 hurried his way to the door praying Niles wouldn't appear in the living room. He was lucky and didn't walk down the stairs to find his ancestor opening the front door in the company of two flying spheres.  
  
"Hello, son."  
  
"DAD, could you stop doing that?" Number 732 said when he saw Martin in the hallway.  
  
"It is not me!" whispered the blue ball hiding behind his back.  
  
"Oh, I...hello Dad," Niles 732 said. "Good to see you."  
  
"Listen son, I want to talk to you. There's something you need to know."  
  
"I..." the blue sphere tapped his back twice, telling him he had to leave. "Um, why don't we go to Nervosa?"  
  
Martin nodded in agreement. "Sure," he smiled. "Let's go."  
  
When the door closed, DAD spoke.  
  
"We have to keep an eye on them."  
  
"I agree."  
  
"Ok, here..." DAD said. "I'll go check on Niles and you'll check on 732. Ok?"  
  
"Ok," Frasier 727 said. "But please don't do anything that will interfere with the way things happened. Remember, we are here to find the reason, not to change the past."  
  
"Whatever," DAD said as Frasier 727 sped away.  
  
Twenty minutes later, Niles walked down the stairs with a suitcase and, leaving it by the door, retreated to the kitchen. Three minutes later, he grabbed the suitcase and left, not noticing the blue ball attached to his luggage.  
  
***  
  
The black Mercedes crossed the intersection and headed toward the city limits, southbound. Inside, a confused psychiatrist tried to escape from his life.  
  
In the back seat a machine from the future was trying to find a way to convince him to go back.  
  
If there was a way.  
  
First things first.  
  
He had to stop the car. That was easy.  
  
DAD consulted his '21st century road map' data bank and other records and then put his plan into motion.  
  
Niles could have sworn he'd filled the gas tank before leaving the city, but when he looked casually to the dashboard he saw the gauge was on empty.  
  
"Oh, great," Niles said and cursed his luck.  
  
The 'Low Gasoline' warning lamp turned on and began blinking.  
  
He tried to remember if he was close enough to a gas station.  
  
He had driven that road a lot of times and he remembered no gas station in the next twenty miles...but...hey, wait a minute...  
  
A road side billboard informed him Moxie's Diner and Service Station was three miles ahead.  
  
Perfect...  
  
Almost five minutes later he drove into a brand new looking gas station next to a very inviting diner.  
  
A skinny young man chewing tobacco was leaning against one of the pumps, reading a newspaper, but folded it when Niles parked his car and rolled down his window  
  
The man's name was Roger, according to his shirt pocket.  
  
"Fill it, please," Niles said.  
  
"Want me to check the oil and water?" the guy asked, once he had the pump activated.  
  
"Yes, thank you," Niles nodded, getting out.  
  
He stretched his arms while the guy inspected his car's engine.  
  
"Oh, this is not good," Roger said, pointing inside the engine.  
  
"What is it?" Niles asked, approaching.  
  
Roger pulled out a shredded belt. "This...it seems you got here just in time, mister, your car would've overheated..."  
  
"Well, it seems my little trip is over," Niles sighed.  
  
Roger chuckled.  
  
"If you give me a few minutes I think I can fix it," he said, pointing to a little garage at the side of the station. "We have some belts back there, maybe one will fit."  
  
"Oh, good, how long will it take?" Niles wanted to know.  
  
"Half an hour?"  
  
Niles smiled. "Perfect."  
  
"You can wait for it at the diner over there," Roger said, gesturing toward the restaurant. "Don't miss Moxie's Mexican food specialties, they're the best this north of Mexico."  
  
Niles nodded...a place out of the sun was a good idea.  
  
"Ok, I'll check it out." He started toward the restaurant.  
  
Roger drove the car into the garage.  
  
When Niles opened the door to the diner, the first thing he heard was soft music, not from the jukebox but from inside the kitchen, beyond the bar. That was being cleaned by a woman with a kitchen towel.  
  
She smiled at Niles as she continued cleaning.  
  
"Good morning, welcome to Moxie's," she said and stopped, slipping the towel under the bar. "Here is the menu," she said, placing it in front of him.  
  
"Thank you," he said, looking around.  
  
The place was comfortable, a typical old fashioned diner setting with individual booths and a bar with stools.  
  
There was a magazine rack immediately to the left of the door with old editions of National Geographic, Vogue and comics.  
  
The diner was almost deserted, with only a few people enjoying their meals in silence.  
  
Niles sat on the nearest stool and took the menu.  
  
"I'm Janet. So," the woman said. "Where are you headed?"  
  
Niles answered while reading the menu. "I am off to my cabin to seek a period of rest."  
  
"Oh, that's wonderful," Janet stated. "There is nothing like solitude to recover one's strength, don't you think?"  
  
"I couldn't agree more," Niles said. "Could you bring me some coffee, please?"  
  
Janet nodded. "Coming right up." And promptly disappeared into the kitchen  
  
Niles sighed.  
  
He wasn't really hungry. As a matter of fact, he wasn't even reading the menu, he just wanted the woman to stop talking.  
  
His father's words had been echoing in his head since he left the city.  
  
Why he was leaving? He wasn't doing it for Daphne, he was doing it for himself. He couldn't stand hearing her saying 'I do' if she wasn't saying it to him.  
  
Why had he been so weak, that time at his office? Why hadn't he been bold and selfish and told her something like 'no, you cannot marry him because I love you' and let her make her decision?.  
  
The reason was simple. She was his friend above all things and, at least, he wanted to save that...to keep her as close as he could.  
  
But how could he survive if she were there, married to another man, maybe having children in the future...  
  
He would have to get over her.  
  
Get over Daphne? He thought, nonsense...he knew she was so deeply inside him, his love would last beyond his own death.  
  
But that was something he would have to learn to do: live without Daphne. To try to search for the cure for his love in his patients, to live to heal other people's problems and provide happiness to those who'd lost it.  
  
Live for psychiatry.  
  
"What if I tell you that will destroy your future?" his father had asked, so seriously the words were imprinted in his mind, refusing to go away.  
  
Why my future will be destroyed?  
  
How?  
  
A pile of books were placed heavily to his left, startling him.  
  
An old man sat and sighed heavily.  
  
Niles looked at the titles and saw, with great interest, they were psychiatry topics.  
  
"This book is very interesting," he said, trying to start a conversation.  
  
The man simply looked at him and, taking his books, walked to a lonely booth at the bottom of the diner.  
  
Niles arched an eyebrow.  
  
"Don't mind him," Janet said, placing Niles' coffee in front of him. "He is the quiet type."  
  
"You know him?"  
  
"Yes," the woman replied. "He always comes here when he drives to his country place for the weekend, he is a very good psychiatrist "  
  
"He doesn't look very friendly."  
  
"He is not," Janet said, "But he is a good doctor, his patients always find the cure to their problems."  
  
"Incredible," Niles said in surprise.  
  
"Yeah...sugar?" she offered. When he nodded, she continued, "It is as if he suffered a transformation. Every time he talks to a patient he seems to be looking for something."  
  
"How do you know so much about him?"  
  
"He helped me once," Janet stated solemnly. "And, in return, I give him his meals for free. He is on his own, you know."  
  
"Remarkable," he said to himself. "And what you think he is looking for?"  
  
"His happiness, I think," Janet poured some coffee for herself. "When we were in therapy he kept saying he felt so good with a patient that he always wanted to give people happiness in order to get his own...he also said that he had never really found it, patient after patient."  
  
Niles, who had forgotten about his coffee, was looking at that poor man seated at the bottom of the diner. He continued reading and was grasping the book like it was something loved. Sadness was written on his face.  
  
Niles shivered, was that what he wanted for his future?  
  
Janet sipped her coffee. A man's voice called her from the kitchen.  
  
"Excuse me," she said before leaving.  
  
Niles didn't reply, he was still looking at the man. That could be him sometime in the future...maybe Dad wasn't that wrong...  
  
His thoughts were interrupted when something began tugging his pants.  
  
He looked down and saw the most beautiful brown eyes he had never seen on a little girl. She had long black hair and was smiling at him.  
  
"Hello, mister" she said.  
  
"Hey, there," he replied, smiling back.  
  
"My name is ..." the girl began.  
  
"Hester!" called a man's voice.  
  
Niles looked for the source of the voice and saw a man, a few years older than him, coming closer. The man was well dressed and had a smile on his face as he finally raised his daughter in his arms.  
  
"Please excuse my daughter, sir, " he said in a very formal and polite manner such as his own.  
  
"We were just introducing each other, were we not?"  
  
"Yes," little Hester said. "What is your name?"  
  
"I am...."  
  
"Well, look who is back," said Janet, cheerfully.  
  
"Hello, Janet," the man carrying Hester said. "Long time no see."  
  
"Where is Daphne?" Janet asked, wiping her hands on her apron.  
  
The man pointed outside with a head gesture but Hester answered.  
  
"Mommy is sleeping in the van," she said.  
  
"Is she sick?" Janet asked.  
  
"I wouldn't call it sickness, " the man smiled .  
  
"I will have a sister!" Hester said with childish happiness.  
  
"Congratulations, Honey," Janet smiled. "So, want something to eat?"  
  
The man shook his head. "We just stopped by to say hello to you, Hester here insisted."  
  
Janet went to the kitchen and came back with an apple that she promptly placed in Hester's hands.  
  
"Thank you, Janet."  
  
"You're welcome, Honey.." she replied. "Where are you going?"  
  
"To the cabin, you know how much my wife enjoys the fresh air."  
  
"Oh, yes, say hello for me, ok?"  
  
"I will." The man spun around and walked to the door.  
  
"Tell her I will be waiting to meet the new baby."  
  
"We'll all stop by next time and you'll meet Hester's sister," the man said, and they were gone.  
  
"It seems that you're very popular," Niles said, smiling.  
  
"I guess," Janet said proudly. "And I like it when they stop by. That man suffered a lot and it is good to see him happy."  
  
"What happened to him?"  
  
Janet leaned in and spoke quietly.  
  
"He was in love with a girl but never said anything, he almost ran away when she became engaged to be married to another guy. But he returned and talked to her. You just saw the result."  
  
Niles stood in the doorway out and saw two things: the entire family leaving in a van and Roger walking in, wiping his hands on an oily towel.  
  
"Your car is ready."  
  
Niles didn't hear him. He was deep in thought.  
  
In that place he saw his possible future...one, in the man seated at the bottom of the diner, reading his books, or the man with his family. There was an enormous difference between them, the man with the girl was happy...very happy...and the other...  
  
He didn't know what would happen if he returned to face her. Could it make a difference? He didn't want to be the man with the books. And he knew where the key to his everlasting happiness was...  
  
Daphne.  
  
"You look like a man who's made a decision," Janet said.  
  
He looked at his hands, noticing the menu was still there.  
  
He had no time to eat now. He placed it on the counter.  
  
"As a matter of fact I have," he said and leaped from the stool, running to the door.  
  
Roger stepped aside to let him pass and smiled when Niles jumped into his car and sped away.  
  
In his mental state, Niles never saw the Moxie's Diner and Service disappear slowly until there was nothing there but an abandoned gas station at the side of the road.  
  
DAD chuckled as he flew toward Seattle. "He owes me 30 dollars for that repair."  
  
***  
  
Number 732 learned a lot from his talk with Martin.  
  
First, he learned how much his 'family' cared about him. He also learned the story of Niles' unquenchable love for Daphne and the countless times he fought back the wish to let her know...the father also said that they were sorry but there was nothing he could do.  
  
And he was right.  
  
By the time he was back at the Montana he had made two important decisions.  
  
He would talk to Daphne.  
  
He would never forget Martin Crane and would thank DAD for using his appearance in the future.  
  
Frasier 727 hovered until he was at 732's eye level.  
  
"That was an incredible story the dad told."  
  
"Indeed," 732 stated.  
  
"I have never seen such a case," the Freudian computer said. "He chose his loyalty to her above his desires. It is very remarkable because humans are usually selfish and try to get whatever they want, no matter the price."  
  
"That's usually correct," Number 732 agreed. "But not when the price is hurting the person they love.he chose love above his desire because that meant her happiness."  
  
"I don't understand it completely."  
  
"That is because you're nothing but a stubborn machine who tries to analyze everything!" DAD interjected, appearing from upstairs.  
  
"I AM Frasier 727" the super computer said. "I know exactly how to deal with human emotions."  
  
"No you don't, you just try to analyze them." DAD stated.  
  
"Oh, don't tell me you don't," Frasier 727 barked.  
  
" I do not!" DAD replied. "I just try to learn from them."  
  
"Oh, yes, and tell me, what have you learned?"  
  
"I've learned that sometimes human emotions such as love cannot be explained in psychological terms."  
  
"That is ridiculous!" Frasier 727 stated. "Psychiatry has survived all these centuries because it can explain those emotions!!!"  
  
"So why I am here now?" DAD barked. "Don't you remember I use experience based diagnostics to learn about human emotions?"  
  
"Oh, so you're a humanized computer?"  
  
Number 732 held the two spheres at his eye level. The last thing he needed was one of the eternal arguments between his mechanical companions.  
  
"Would you stop that?"  
  
"Only if he shuts up!" both spheres said at unison.  
  
Niles 732 rolled his eyes. They were very similar but he wouldn't tell them that; he would never hear the end of it. And he had more important things to worry about.  
  
But, he had to wait...  
  
There were a lot of things DAD and Frasier 727 didn't know about the past. The records, after all, were old, and some information was not recorded properly. That's why they didn't know Daphne had stolen a key from Dr. Crane's apartment and was there now, turning it in the lock.  
  
It was a good thing DAD had activated his camouflage field.  
  
Carefully, Daphne walked in and closed the door, making no noise at all.  
  
She was determined to get an answer right away, and the only source for that answer was Niles Crane.  
  
The lights were off, a clear indication he was not home. So she sat down on the fainting couch.  
  
"What is she doing here?"  
  
The red ball hovered around Daphne.  
  
"Mmm...she is quite a specimen....and she thinks she has psychic powers !"  
  
"Frasier 727!" DAD hit him and saw the ball stumble away. " Would you stop that?"  
  
"Oh, alright!"  
  
"Can I talk to her?" Niles 732 asked.  
  
"Absolutely not."  
  
"But she looks so confused...maybe I could help her."  
  
"732, remember, you look exactly like him !" DAD said.  
  
"Even better," Niles 732 said. "I think I know how to solve this problem !"  
  
Frasier 727 hovered around him furiously.  
  
"You can't interfere with the past!!"  
  
"I am dedicated to solving people's problems, am I not?" 732 said. "Well, she needs help."  
  
"Don't you try to confuse me!" the red ball yelled in mechanical anger. "I am Frasier 727, all the knowledge of eminent psychiatrists from the past is in my data banks! You cannot confuse me, I know about ...hey....listen to me!!! Don't you dare ignore me..."  
  
"DAD..." 732 commanded. "Make me visible."  
  
Daphne would have never guessed what was happening behind her. Slowly, Niles Crane appeared like a ghost. He stood there in silence for a couple of seconds, excited and completely nervous. He was about to talk, after 732 generations, with the object of his deepest love.  
  
The two spheres darted under the couch.  
  
"Daphne?" 732 said softly.  
  
She jumped to her feet, startled...Niles screamed and stepped back.  
  
"Oh, geez..." a metallic ball said in binary frustration.  
  
"Dr. Crane! I didn't know you were here!"  
  
"I am sorry," he said matter of factly. "I didn't mean to startle you like that."  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"It's alright..." Daphne said, still looking a little shaky. " I...wanted to talk to you."  
  
"Oh." he circled the couch and sat. "What's on your mind?"  
  
She just stood for a moment and finally spoke.  
  
"You know, Dr. Crane, a few months ago I walked into your office and asked you about something that would affect my future."  
  
"What is that, Daphne ?"  
  
"My wedding to Donny, you remember that, don't you?" she asked, jokingly.  
  
"Yes," Niles 732 leaned back on the couch. "What about it?"  
  
She sat next to him. "When I came to you that day, Dr. Crane, I wanted you to help me, I wanted you to tell me what to do."  
  
"Can I ask you something, Daphne?"  
  
"What is it, Dr. Crane?"  
  
"Why did you come to me that day?" he asked, folding his arms. "It seems to me that you had other friends to help you with that...I mean, I am honored you selected me but, my curiosity asks...why me?"  
  
The answer came without hesitation.  
  
"You have always been there for me, and when I had that decision to make the first person that came to my mind was you..."  
  
"And I will always be here for you, Daphne, you know that..." he said, with the power of the truth backing up his words. "You can always count on me even if you are not here."  
  
"Then why have been so distant lately?" she asked.  
  
"Distant?"  
  
"Everybody is trying to ignore it, but I have eyes..." she stated. "What is happening?"  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," 732 said dryly.  
  
"Of course you do." She rose. "I have seen you walk away when Donny and I come into the room. You are trying to avoid me."  
  
"I..."  
  
"Don't try to deny it, Dr. Crane," she warned.  
  
"And what is it that makes you angry?" he asked. "You have your life and I am not part of it. Your decisions are your own, Daphne, remember that. Even when. other people. might not like them."  
  
"Then you don't think I'm doing the right thing!"  
  
"I think that is not the correct question," Niles 732 rose and looked at her with a smile. "It seems to me that you have to look within yourself to answer that, Daphne. How could I know what's right if I don't know what is happening with you? I am not with you all the time, that privilege is for Donny," he said, knowing he was directing her to exactly where he wanted.  
  
"I am going to marry him."  
  
"I know, your best friend told you to."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Why would've happened if I told you not to?" Niles 732 asked. "Would you have just turned down his proposal?"  
  
"I...oh, Dr. Crane, you're not happy for us?"  
  
"Are you happy for you and Donny?"  
  
"Of course I..."  
  
"Just think about it, Daphne, "  
  
She grabbed her purse. "I have to go now...I came here to talk with a friend and I just found a psychiatrist."  
  
"You came here looking for my approval of your relationship," Niles 732 stated. "As you did that day in my office."  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked, not believing how he was talking to her. "I am completely capable of making my own decisions."  
  
"Good."  
  
"What is he doing?" DAD asked, dumbfounded.  
  
"He is trying to see if she has feelings for Niles."  
  
"What if she doesn't?" DAD asked.  
  
"I must remind you of our mission," Frasier 727 said. "We are here to find out why Niles 732 ancestors died before completing their life cycle. Apparently, the reason was this woman...anyway... there is nothing we can do if she has no real feelings for Niles Crane, if she doesn't then we will have to go back to our era and Number 732 will have to use the information gathered here to go on."  
  
"I knew psychiatry was just a big bunch of hooey!"  
  
"What a surprise," Frasier 727 quipped.  
  
Daphne left in a huff.  
  
Niles 732 closed the door and sighed.  
  
"You did a good job, 732," DAD said, hovering next to his left side.  
  
"Indeed," 727 agreed. "You didn't tell her a thing but you allowed her to think about the possibility of having feelings for him. Very clever."  
  
"Thank you," he said, his voice sounding sad.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"It is just that," Number 732 said, walking to the couch. "When I first came here I sincerely wanted to help Niles Crane ...I now understand how things happened, but the problem is still the same. I can't do anything to get them together, because the decision is just theirs...even if she realizes she has feelings for him, he is not here now...and won't return until is too late."  
  
"732," DAD said paternally. "You need to be patient."  
  
"Why, DAD?" he asked, bitterly. "In case you haven't noticed, this is the past...all of this happened more than 600 years ago. This place and these people are long gone."  
  
"But you made a difference," Frasier 727 stated, hovering next to DAD. "Without you she wouldn't have found him here."  
  
"And she didn't," 732 said.  
  
"Didn't she?" DAD asked, sounding amused.  
  
"I am not Niles Crane."  
  
"You were for Martin, and for Daphne."  
  
"I changed the past?" Number 732 asked, surprised  
  
"The effects of your talk with her are not computable now..." Frasier 727 said. "We will have to see how things evolve."  
  
The sound of the door being unlocked from the outside surprised them.  
  
"DAD?"  
  
"Activating Camouflage Field!"  
  
The door swung open .  
  
Niles walked in with his luggage.  
  
"He returned?"  
  
"Do you seriously think I went there just for fun?" DAD asked sarcastically.  
  
"How did you convince him?" Frasier 727 wanted to know.  
  
"Well, I showed him what his choices were...being alone or being with Daphne," DAD explained  
"That was brilliant." Frasier 727 admitted  
"It's not psychiatry but it sure works..."  
"You're a good machine, DAD," 732 said.  
Niles left his luggage by the door and walked into the room. He had taken no more than three steps when the doorbell rang.  
He spun around  
It rang again. Twice.  
He opened the door.  
Daphne was standing there looking frazzled.  
  
"I decided to marry Donny because you told me to," was the first thing she said. "And I am not happy for us because you wouldn't be with me....I don't want him if that means you will be not there..."  
  
Niles stood there in shock.  
  
"What are you saying?" he asked, slowly.  
  
"It is very simple..." she walked in and took his hands in hers. "I wasn't sure if I should marry Donny because I have feelings for another man, a person I saw in my visions..."  
  
"Daphne, we went through this before ..." Niles interjected.  
  
"And you were wrong, Niles ..." she said vehemently. "It was not fear of commitment....it was love... not for Donny but for you."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I love you, Niles Crane and I am not asking for your approval now, I know I was wrong then and I apologize...but how could I know you loved me?...you never said a word and when you should have you just told me to marry him."  
  
Niles felt like he was riding a roller coaster and was not completely sure that this was not a dream. He would have pinched himself but he was enjoying it so much he decided to go on.  
  
"Daphne...are you sure about this?" Niles asked. " I don't want to ruin your life..."  
  
"Ruin my life?" she asked, laughing. "How, Niles? Being with my best friend, the man who decided not to tell me he loved me because he thought it would mean my getting hurt? The man who has been there for me all along and. whom I constantly hurt with my behavior?...the man I love?..." She hugged him. "Then ruin my life, Niles...please!"  
  
He replied to that simply kissing her. ***  
  
The blue ball circled Niles 732 clockwise while talking.  
  
"I think there is nothing more to do here, 732," he said with clear joy spicing his mechanical voice.  
  
The red ball circled him counterclockwise.  
  
"DAD is right, our mission is over. Should I activate the Time Travel Field?" Frasier 727 asked.  
  
Number 732 looked at the couple kissing on the fainting couch and smiled joyfully.  
  
"Yes, please. Let's give them a little privacy, shall we?" he said and then waved his hands as if trying to shoo some buzzing flies. "And stop circling me, you're making me dizzy!"  
  
***  
  
When 732 stepped out of the Time Travel Field he found the hologram of Martin Crane in the same place he had left him.  
  
The two metallic balls hovered out after him.  
  
"Downloading mission log," DAD said. For a second he remained silent while the metallic ball sent him the information.  
  
"Mission log download start." The Super Computer did the same.  
  
When the procedure was completed, both metallic balls hovered out of the room in silence.  
  
"So," DAD began. "How was your trip?"  
  
"Excellent!" 732 said, radiant. "More than excellent."  
  
"Did you find out why your ancestors failed to complete their predetermined life cycle?" Frasier 727 wanted to know.  
  
"Yes, I did," Niles 732 nodded, lost in thoughts.  
  
"Please," Frasier said. "State the reason for our records."  
  
"They died of sadness."  
  
***  
  
Was my present affected?  
  
DAD and Frasier 727 knew he'd changed the past but said nothing about the present.  
  
Oh, maybe it wasn't a significant change, he thought as the car flew toward his apartment. After all, mates were never cloned, only selected persons with excellent careers were. That was a real shame, he thought, dejected. That would only mean that he was destined to live longer, but alone.  
  
He had his career, of course, but now that he'd seen how life was in the past he felt nostalgic. Now that he was flying through the skies of the 27th century, the fact that those persons he met were dead made him feel sad.  
  
He would never see them again.  
  
At least he knew how things had happened, he thought.  
  
Back in 2000, Niles Crane was in love with Daphne Moon but never told her anything. He chose his ethics above his love and the result was a depressive state that end up killing him. He spent his last years alone, devoted to his profession, searching in other people's problems for the cure for his love. He never found it.  
  
Instead of that, he found virtual eternity.  
  
He was selected for the cloning program for his psychiatry skills.  
  
His cloned predecessors carried his sadness in their cells. Incredibly, his love for that woman was imprinted in his genetic material. His feelings for her were that strong.  
  
Soul mates.  
  
After his death, Niles Crane 001 lived again and again, but Daphne Moon was no longer in this world. So, when he reached the age when his ancestor had experienced the terrible event of seeing her go away, he tried to find her. But even when his body knew there was something amiss, even when his heart told him to look for her, the blocking imposed by Frasier 001 led him to a crisis. Because he didn't know what was happening to him  
  
That was the reason they ended up like that.  
  
Alone.  
  
732 shivered.  
  
In a matter of minutes, he would be in an empty apartment, attended only by a cold computer.  
  
At least, he thought as the car entered the parking lot, I know how it all happened. Now I can deal with it.  
  
I can turn my sadness in joy because I know now they ended up together.  
  
Thanks to me  
  
I changed their future.  
  
***  
  
The door recognized him and opened, allowing him to walk in. Not really expecting anything different in his apartment, his life was the same he remembered. Everything was normal.  
  
One question popped into his mind as he entered his office.  
  
How had things ended for Niles and Daphne?  
  
Good question.  
  
"Computer," he called once he was seated at his desk.  
  
"Yes, Doctor."  
  
"Call DAD."  
  
Two seconds later his communication was established.  
  
"Digital Analysis Director is online," said a mechanical and grave voice.  
  
"DAD, what happened with Niles and Daphne?" he asked, intertwining his hands over the desk.  
  
This time it was Martin Crane who answered.  
  
"Feeling curious, huh?"  
  
"DAD..."  
  
"Ok, Ok, Niles Crane died in 2035 in Seattle Washington, Daphne Moon died in 2036 in the same city, there, happy?"  
  
"Were they married?"  
  
"Yes, they had two children, two girls, but they refused to be in the cloning program, want to know why? I assure you it is a powerful reason..."  
  
"Not for now. Thank you."  
  
Number 732 sighed. Preparing to ask his next and most important question.  
  
"Were they happy?"  
  
"We computers cannot analyze that kind of data, you know that," DAD said. "Maybe the answer is within you. Tell me, 732, do you think they were happy?"  
  
"I am sure they were."  
  
"Do you have another question?"  
  
"As a matter of fact I have," he said. "How will I end my Life Cycle? Do you think changing the past of my ancestor will mean more danger to me? Will I end up crazy and alone like the 731 before me?"  
  
Dad spent three long seconds maybe calculating the odds and consulting his data banks.  
  
"Your present was affected, but the impact that will have on you is simply not computable."  
  
"Thank you, DAD."  
  
"Anytime, Niles, ...This is the Digital Analysis Director going off line."  
  
Once he was alone, he spent a good three minutes pondering the information he'd just received...and he felt good. He was able to change the past and future of a person and help himself...the sad part was that, in his present, no change was visible and he remained the same he was before...alone in his apartment.  
  
Niles 732 leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.  
  
A smile spread across his face.  
  
Daphne.  
  
All this time, all these years I had you, deep inside of me...could she picture a love like this?...would she know that she would be loved for so long?...virtually forever... but now...in him, there was a major change...if he was right, and he hoped he was, his future was somehow saved. Not in the way he would like but at least...at least...he knew now how to deal with his feelings for that woman so long gone.  
  
He would treasure them, like a motivation to live, a celebration of real love, a celebration nobody would ever understand, not DAD, not Frasier 727....  
  
The sound of the doors swinging open made him open his eyes.  
  
A vision in red dress walked in, smiling at him.  
  
He looked at her in surprise, surprise that quickly turned into dejection...it was just the computer using Daphne's appearance, just as he asked her to before his trip to the past.  
  
However, what she asked took him completely off guard.  
  
"How did you know I'd like this?"  
  
He quickly leaped to his feet, his heart pounding.  
  
"Daphne?"  
  
"Yes?" she replied, adopting a worried expression. "Are you feeling alright?"  
  
"Are...are you real...?"  
  
"What's Frasier told you this time?" she giggled. "Of course I am!"  
  
She moved closer and hugged him tight.  
  
He hugged her back, just to convince himself he was not hallucinating.  
  
He was not.  
  
"Oh , my God..." he whispered.  
  
She separated and kissed him quickly on the lips, then looked him in the eye.  
  
"Niles...is something wrong?"  
  
He shook his head vehemently.  
  
"No, absolutely not...I just missed you..."  
  
She smiled warmly... and modeled the dress for him.  
  
"Thank you for this..." she said. "I always wanted to have it back..."  
  
"I..." he babbled, still in shock. " How...?"  
  
"DAD sent it shortly before you arrived, he said you ordered it and I wanted to surprise you," she confessed "Although, he said something very strange..."  
  
"And that was...?"  
  
She looked at him quizzically.  
  
"He said you must report to him how this impacts your present..." Daphne Moon, in her 732nd cycle, shrugged her shoulders. "What did he mean by that?"  
  
He smiled.  
  
"Oh, he meant some work, forget about it..." Niles 732 shook his head and made mental note to thank DAD later "I will tell him that I am completely blown away." He reached for her hand. "I thought I'd be coming home to a cold computer ... "  
  
"A cold computer?" Daphne 732 smiled. "Well, thank you!" she added, folding her arms in mock anger.  
  
"...Instead of that... I came home to an angel..."  
  
"I will never, ever stop saying this," she dragged him to her for a kiss. "But you always have the right thing to say."  
  
As Niles 732 hugged her, a metallic blue ball hovered away from outside the window followed by a red one.  
  
"DAD, I require an explanation. Why didn't you tell him about his M.A.T.E.?"  
  
"And spoil the surprise?" The blue ball blinked, dodging a speeding car. "No way."  
  
"I don't understand your motivation," the red one replied. "It is not computable."  
  
"I am sure it isn't," the blue said. "You're nothing but a machine."  
  
"So are you!"  
  
"Indeed. But my prime directive is to analyze human emotions and use them in my daily interface with them..."  
  
The blue ball stopped.  
  
"How will that benefit him?" Frasier 727 asked. "I mean, will it be better for him to have a mate?"  
  
"The perfect mate." DAD stated. "This way, he will be able to complete his life cycle, because he has somebody to come home to, somebody who will always listen and will always love him. For him, the fate to die alone is now gone, and as long as he continues on the cloning program, she will be there for him...forever..."  
  
"That is not computable."  
  
"Simple. Niles Crane would never be able to live a complete life without Daphne Moon."  
  
"That is not..."  
  
"Oh, why don't you button your yap for once?" DAD said and flew away at full speed  
  
"Don't you dare leave me here talking to myself!" Frasier 727 barked in mechanical frustration. "I need an explanation!" Accelerating, he followed DAD in hot pursuit. "DAD!...wait for me...DAD!..."  
  
Geez, some things never change!  
  
Credits Tag.  
  
Dedicated to all STAR TREK Fans.  
  
Fade in to a computer monitor where this story is visible then change to a general scene.  
  
Vick is working in his computer alone at his office when suddenly, Noel Shempsky, in his USS Enterprise uniform, is beamed into the room behind him. Before he even has the chance to notice him, Noel gives Vick the Vulcan pinch in the neck sending this author directly to the arms of Morpheus.  
  
Live long and prosper. Connection to the 27th century terminated...  
  
"No one can achieve greatness on its own" as Daphne Moon said in Becky's 'Mrs. Niles Crane'  
The Domino Effect: A Frasier TechnoRomance  
  
Glossary of Characters and Technology.  
  
Niles Crane 732nd (or Number 732): he lives in the 27th century, and he is the 732nd clone of the original Niles and who has been devoted, in all of his 'generations' to psychiatry.  
  
The Digital Analysis Director (D.A.D.) due to the absence of family for the people in the cloning program, this super computer, who run under a neural net that gives him emotions, serves to the porpouse of to give them 'virtual parental like' assistance....I called it DAD, just to be easy for people to parallel it with Martin Crane  
  
The Freudian Supercomputer Frasier 727 [Intel inside]: In this story, this Super Computer represents Frasier's tendency to over analyze things, of course, Niles runs to him for advice because he is, indeed, a very skilled psychiatrist. And it is why his opinion sometimes is different from DAD's who uses 'virtual lifelong experience' as his primal source for advice.  
  
Niles 732's home Computer: it represents the monotony in Niles' life, she takes care of him, monitors his health but that's it, she executes his orders only if they are not out of her program...and no, she is not Maris...and good God, she is not Mel either... -shivers--  
  
Niles Crane 731: this character is used only as reference of the 'disease' that had been affecting all Niles clones through the years.  
  
Daphne Moon 732: No explanation required, I think  
ASCII : Alphanumeric Symbolic Code II, code computers use to display characters.  
  
Active Camouflage Field (ACF) : normally, one of these devices will allow invisibility to all on its active range (this may vary depending on the power source for the system), the system also provides effective sonic protection, in other words, all sounds inside the protected perimeter will not be heard.  
  
Time Travel Fields (TTF). TOP SECRET, can't discuss this one.  
  
Extension Units: Sphere-shaped artifacts used as 'probes' by 'Frasier' and 'DAD' level systems in zones beyond their range  
  
================================================================= Thank you for reading this story, feel free to email Vick with your comments 


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